So wouldn't it be ironic if the first-term Democrat became party to a Senate Judiciary Committee probe of a bounty that was put on Favre's head during the 2009 NFC Championship Game by the New Orleans Saints, the coup-de-grace of a much broader bounty scandal involving the eventual Super Bowl champions?

That may very well be the case.

Despite unprecedented sanctions imposed on the Saints franchise by the National Football League that include suspensions, fines and the loss of draft picks, Blumenthal told Hearst Connecticut Newspapers last week that a congressional investigation of "bountygate" is warranted.

"I support the NFL's action to act swiftly once it discovered and proved that this bounty program existed," Blumenthal said.

"There still are questions about whether other professional and collegiate sports organizations are vulnerable to the same kind of illicit practices."

The NFL declined to comment about the prospect of Senate intervention in the scandal, which exposed a systemic bounty program within the Saints organization that rewarded players with cash for injuring the team's opponents.

Fellow Democrat Dick Durbin, of Illinois, who serves with Blumenthal on the Judiciary Committee, last week called for a Senate hearing on the matter and an ensuing inquiry into whether such bounties should be made illegal under federal law.

Blumenthal stopped short of accusing Saints players, coaches and management of engaging in criminal activity.

"That is an issue that certainly is not appropriate for speculation," Blumenthal said. "We need more facts. Having been a prosecutor, I'm pretty careful about making criminal allegations. It's appropriate for fact finding and an investigation to continue."

The scandal resulted in the suspension of Saints coach Sean Payton for one year, an eight-game ban for the team's general manager Mickey Loomis, the loss of two second round draft picks and a $500,000 fine.

Gregg Williams, the team's former defensive coordinator and so-called mastermind of the bounty program, has been banished from the league indefinitely.

"So there is a legitimate set of questions as to what other professional and collegiate and sports organizations are doing to protect their players and the integrity of their sports," Blumenthal said. "The public has a right to know."

"It is shocking that Senator Durbin wants the Judiciary Committee to focus on professional sports and athletes worth millions of dollars while American families are still struggling to put food on the table," Walsh said in a statement last week on his website. "This is political grandstanding at its worst."

Blumenthal had no comment in response. He emphasized that no hearing has been set yet by the committee.

Favre was a marked man in the 2009 NFC Championship, in which Saints players put a $10,000 bounty on his head.